


A Moon in the Day

by Emotionally_Detached (Yeah_Toast)



Series: Mellow Rays of a Departing Sun [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Number Five | The Boy, Ben Hargreeves Deserves Better, Ben Hargreeves Lives, Body Dysphoria, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hindenburg Disaster, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Time Travel, briefcases, different reasons though, the horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26539687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeah_Toast/pseuds/Emotionally_Detached
Summary: He’s done it, he’s integrated Vanya into the family and hopefully stopped her from destroying the world. Now he just needs to keep the Commission off his back and keep Ben alive.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy)
Series: Mellow Rays of a Departing Sun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888387
Comments: 21
Kudos: 270





	A Moon in the Day

**Author's Note:**

> Slowly but surely, I will crank this series out

“Here’s what has to be done and it has to be done soon,” Five explains, sitting across from Reginald. “If we don’t take the Commission out soon, they’ll let Ben die. If he dies, I’m not sure we can stop the apocalypse. The only way to prevent his death is to ensure the death of those who lead the Commission.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

Five doesn’t bother to hide the grimace that makes its way into his face. “I’m afraid I’ll need to go back for a short while and figure a few things out. The Board of Directors isn’t easy to get in one location.”

“And it has to be you? None of your former colleagues can help?”

Five snorts. “None of them have what it takes to do what I’ll be doing. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, but it shouldn’t be more than a day or two for you. If my siblings ask, tell them I’m fine.”

“Very well, report back here once you’ve completed your business.”

Five assesses Reginald one more time, nods, and jumps away from the office.

~

The thing is that for all that Five has told Reginald that he’d take a few days and get it sorted, he doesn’t exactly have a plan to get everything in order. Going back to the Commission and scoping out the Board’s historic quarterly meeting locations would be ideal, but nearly impossible. Even if he were on his best behavior, he can’t imagine that the Commission will ever trust him again, nor should they, particularly with the sort of information he’s seeking out.

No, his best bet is to find someone who also can’t be trusted, someone who is willing to work against the Commission for their own purposes. His best bet is the Handler.

She survived. He knows she did. She’s like a cockroach in that way. She survived, and now Five will finally offer her what she wants. If she agrees to leave his family alone, to put off the apocalypse, Five will offer her the Commission on a platter.

~

In order to reach Commission HQ, one must have a briefcase. Even if one can time travel independently, not that Five would claim he could do so well, the Commission exists outside of time, not in another time. It would be impossible for someone to reach the exact coordinates without one. That means that Five either has to acquire a briefcase or to find the Handler at a moment that he knows she is in the timestream. There are several he can think of, but he needs the Handler as she is now, greedy and angry and bored. Back when they first met she wouldn’t have been ready for this kind of offer, too loyal and excited about her position.

That leaves only one option.

There are a few points in the timeline where he knows there are Commission Agents other than him at play. There are even fewer points that he knows of in which the disappearance of a briefcase could pass as relatively unremarkable. In the end, it comes down to two simple choices: the Great Chicago Fire or the Hindenburg Disaster.

Hindenburg it is; Five could use a little bit of predictability right about now.

~

The thing is that whichever agent they’ve sent only has a limited amount of time to do his work. The Hindenburg has to explode at a very specific time, if it doesn’t the ratio of survivors to those who die could change and the effects would ripple out from it. So, if Five steals the briefcase close enough to the moment the agent has to act, he’ll have no choice but to let it go and take his chances in the past. Afterall, temporal assassins are trained that the mission always comes first.

There is, of course, the chance that it won’t matter. Five himself had also not taken that particular rule to heart, leaving a mission undone in order to save his siblings. If it comes to that he’ll take care of it, kill the man and keep the Hindenburg explosion on track, but he’d rather keep his interference as little as possible.

Finding the Commission agent is easy. He knows exactly what to look for, period style suit and tie, a briefcase that doesn’t quite match, the way that he holds himself, a briefcase tucked close to his body, the silver glint of the handcuff securing it to his wrist. It’s getting close that proves challenging as he watches the man enter the smoking lounge.

Sighing, Five looks down at himself, his young body, and settles into wait. He doubts he can find a reason to get into the room, so he’ll just have to sit and wait for the agent to leave. Afterall, there's no way he can spark the fire from there, so he can’t remain for too long.

In the end, Five only has to wait about five minutes before the man reemerges. The briefcase is still securely attached to his side, and Five follows him for a moment or two, allowing time to dwindle down towards the point of no return. Finally, the agent reaches a point where he could spark a static reaction.

Five crouches low, watching the man closely, and then, as he reaches toward his pocket, he jumps. It’s easy enough from there, grabbing the man and, in his moment of shock, dislocating his thumb in order to slide the handcuffs off of his wrist.

“Thanks,” Five grins, and he jumps again.

~

The moment he lands in the Handler’s office, he knows that something isn’t right. The room has changed. Not a lot, but enough for Five to realize that things are very different now than when he left. Not much time has passed, he set the briefcase for about four months after his defection, and, though briefcases can be tricky when travelling out of time, he’s pretty sure he should have arrived near when he was aiming for.

Still, the placard on the desk reads ‘Herb’.

Unsettled, Five slips out into the hall. He keeps his head down, well aware that though no one is looking for him he’s shown his younger face here before and the sight of him will be alarming.

If he can just find the Handler, everything will be okay. He can’t imagine that she gave up her position willingly, and knowing that it seems more likely that she’ll go for the deal he’s offering her. Afterall, before he was relying solely on her greed, now he has her anger too. She’s never dealt well with anger. It would be strange for her to start now.

Fortunately for him (at least in this moment), Five has spent enough time in the the presence of her company to hunt her down. He finds her in one of her favorite spots, an old overgrown garden that in the years he’s worked there Five has never seen anyone tend to. He wonders if that’s on purpose, if the overgrown aspect is meant to discourage its use, meant to spur employees to return to work.

“Handler,” Five greets as he sits across from her on an old stone bench.

She eyes him with distrust. Good. It means she remembers how dangerous he really is, what he can do to her if she fails to listen well.

“Five? I don’t believe you’re supposed to be here.”

“Probably not.” Five smiles, all teeth. “But you aren’t supposed to be either. I saw that Herb has taken over for you.”

She scowls, “For now. That man couldn’t recognize a temporal anomaly if it bit him in the ass. The fact that you made it this far into the Commission only seems to highlight his incompetence.”

Five hums. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Really,” She raises a brow. “Usually it's the other way around.”

“Really. How would you like to run the Commission?”

The Handler crosses her ankles and watches him consideringly. “And what's the price? I’ve met you, Five; you don’t do anything for free.”

“That’s easy,” Five gives another smile, this one manic and genuine in the way the ones for his siblings never are. “I want a promise from you, well that and some information, but that’s just so I can claim your position for you.”

“And what promise would that be?”

“Easy, I want the apocalypse canceled once you’re in charge. I know it doesn’t really have to happen. I know that was just you repeating the party line.”

“The information?”

Five allows his smile to falter. “That’s the part I’m not too sure about. You see, your whole position will depend on this information, but to be quite honest I doubt they’d share it with the likes of you. Afterall, the Board doesn’t tell anyone where they have their quarterly meetings.”

Her smile is cold. “Oh, don’t you worry, Five. I can get the information and if in return you kill them all, well, I’ll do what you ask and give up on the apocalypse.”

“It’s a deal then,” Five rises to his feet.

“Oh, one more thing.” The Handler calls after him as he makes his retreat.

“What?”

Her smile is like Five’s cold and hard. “I want you to bring me AJ alive.”

“Done.”

~

“Well,” Reginald demands and Five has to fight the urge to slam his head into his own desk. Instead he leans back in his chair and puts his feet on Reginald’s desk in a small act of rebellion. It isn’t much, but it’s the best he can do now while his siblings remain under his control and he himself looks thirteen years old.

“I’ve contacted someone to get me what I need. It should arrive soon. Once it does I’ll need to take a quick business trip. Other than that though, things are on track for the Commission to meet its end.”

“With this information your rebel party is finally ready to make a move then?”

Five nods once, his mind on the image of the Handler, and grenades, and the damage he did to the Commission in his time as a manager. He'd like to do it again, but there’s simply no way for one man to take out an organization as widespread as it. No, his best bet is to stick to the plan, to change its goals rather than destroy it.

“Good,” Reginald sniffs. “I’m growing tired of this nonsense. The sooner we divert the apocalypse the better.”

“Trust me,” Five replies. “I know.”

He doesn’t bother explaining to Reginald that he’s already solved that little issue. Afterall, Vanya trained alongside the rest of them now. There’s simply no reason for her to destroy the world, not when she can control her powers and their siblings are much more receptive to her then they were in the original timeline.

The apocalypse is prevented. Now it’s time to save Ben.

~

“Where have you been,” Klaus asks, throwing himself down onto Five’s bed. “I had special training while you were gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Five replies. He is. He hasn’t missed any of Klaus’s special training since he first jumped into the mausoleum without Reginald’s knowledge. “You know I wouldn’t have missed it without good reason.”

“I know,” Klaus says into Five’s pillows. There's a pause, and then, “The ghosts were louder then they used to be.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, while you were gone they were… talkative. But Five, they weren’t just screaming.”

“They weren't?”

“No, not all of them. Some of them were screaming your name.”

Five suppresses the full bodied twitch that he wants to give. He isn’t shocked that those he’s killed are haunting him, hell he isn’t even upset about it. He’s more worried for Klaus than anything. If his presence has attracted more ghosts to the Academy then that’s something he needs to consider. Afterall, he plans to keep Klaus away from addictive substances, not drive him to them.

“Really,” Five asks. His tone is a little flatter than normal, but he doesn’t think that Klaus can tell. “Have there been any new ghosts here lately, or is it the same ones as always?”

“The Academy has always had the same ghosts, they just don’t normally say anything. The mausoleum ghosts are always changing.”

“The Academy ghosts though, they’ve been talking lately?”

“Somewhat, and not really to me, just among themselves. They follow you sometimes.”

Five files that information away for later and throws himself down onto his bed with his brother. There’s nothing to be done right now, not until the Handler gets him what he needs. He may as well enjoy living life with his siblings. Afterall, it’s only a matter of time before he fucks it all up again and they don’t want him around.

“Stop thinking,” Klaus demands and, as a pillow hits his face, Five does.

~

They’re at dinner, eating in silence as they always have when Five hears the same pneumatic sound that always signals communications from the Commission. His eyes flicker over to the fireplace, and the tube sitting innocently inside of it, before glancing back at Reginald. The man inclines his head once, telling Five that he understands and they continue to eat their meals in silence.

As Reginald finishes his food, he pushes away from the table. “Children, you are dismissed.”

Five stands alongside the rest of them, wondering what Reginald’s play is. If his father sends him out of the room with the rest of them, he’ll have to object in a way that seems natural to his siblings. He can’t let Reginald get to the message first. Not without knowing exactly what it says.

He’s at the door, debating just jumping back into the room as soon as the door closes behind him (afterall his siblings wouldn’t know exactly where he jumped to) when Reginald calls out to him. “Number Five. Stay behind.”

Turning sharply, Five heads back into the dining room. He allows the heavy doors to slam shut behind him, closing out his siblings whispers of confusion.

“What is it?” Reginald asks as Five approaches the fireplace and reaches for the tube.

“A message. Hopefully the one I’ve been waiting on.”

When he opens it, Five is well aware of Reginald standing over his shoulder, reading alongside him. He glances at the paper quickly, prepared to jump away if it looks as though it may hold anything incriminating, but instead it holds only the essential information. A date, a hotel name, and the name they’ll be using.

It’s not a lot, but it’s enough.

“I’ll be going now,” Five tells Reginald, standing up and straightening his tie. “It shouldn’t take long, but the sooner it’s done the better.”  
“No you won’t be,” Reginald states, staring down his nose at Five. “This is not the mission for one boy, even one who has been trained by this so-called “Commission.” You’ll be taking your siblings with you. They need practice if you expect them to help end the apocalypse.”

“They’ll only slow me down.”

Five jumps before Reginald can say anything, making a brief detour to his room to retrieve the briefcase he’s stashed under his wardrobe. He isn’t comfortable leaving it with Reginald, especially not so soon after defying him.

~

It’s easy enough for Five to get to the right day using the briefcase he acquired, and as he appears in 1982 Wisconsin, Five allows his eyes to roam around the building, looking for signs of his quarry. He finds them soon enough, a sign reading Midwest Soybean Society hanging above the double doors of a boardroom loudly proclaims their location.

He smiles and grabs the fire axe hanging on the wall before jumping into the room.

Watching the fear on the Board’s faces as they recognize him is even more satisfying than he thought it would be. The Handler may be the monster who recruited him, may be the one who served as his Commission liaison, but these men are the ones who approved of her actions, who sanctioned and encouraged them. These men are the reasons he’s been changed down to his very DNA, the reasons for the apocalypse.

He cuts into them indiscriminately, grinning as he watches the life leave their bodies. He’d never enjoyed killing when he was younger, before he’d been injected with the DNA of the world’s finest killers. He wonders if they regret that now as he tears them apart. He hopes they do.

Tempted though he is, Five keeps AJ alive. Afterall, even a killer can keep their word.

~

He finds the Handler in her old office dressed in a rather shocking ensemble consisting of an elegant dress, sash, tiara, and a metal collar with connected pauldrons. It seems she trusted Five to follow through on his word. Good.

“Here,” Five barks, throwing AJ onto the desk.

“Aww,” The Handler coos. “For me? You really are the best agent to ever come through the Commission.”

“Yeah, well, you guys made sure of that didn’t you.”

“That we did. Go along now Five, I have a coup to complete.”

“Not quite yet, I'll be keeping an eye on you, and on my way out of here I’ll be making a stop to ensure that the apocalypse really has been stopped. If I'm not happy with what I find, I’ll be back.”

“Oh don’t worry Five, I don’t care about the apocalypse, not anymore. Now I have all of time to play in.”

~

Blending into the crowd of Commission agents is more than easy once he visits the apparel department and slips on a mask. It isn’t unusual for members of the commission to wear a mask, even around the agency. Assassins are always odd about their identities, even with their employers

When she makes the announcement about the death of the Board, the Handler also announces her own reign. Most just accept it as the new normal, sheep all of them, but they aren’t the ones that Five is watching. No, he’s watching those who chafe under her self imposed rule. Those are the ones that he wants to keep track of.

Two in particular catch his eye.

He catches up to them in an empty stairwell where he rips the mask from his face.

“Recognize me?”

“Number Five!” The woman squeaks.

“That’s right! Now who are you two?”

“I’m Herb,” the man introduces himself. “This is Dot. We work in management.”

“Meaning you’ve dealt with the Handler before?”

Herb shrugs, “We were co-workers, you know, before her demotion and subsequent promotion.”

Dot stares down at him. “Did she send you to kill us?”

“God no,” Five laughs. “I’m going to kill her, and you, you’re going to help me after.”

“How?” Dot demands, but there the whisper of a smile on her face. Afterall, no one who isn’t okay with murder as a means of change works at the Commission.

“Killing her will be easy, afterall, who do you think killed the Board? No, what I need from you is something else entirely. When she’s gone, I need the two of you to step up and run this place.”

“And what do you want in return?” Herb wonders. “Obviously you aren’t just going to hand this to us.”

“That’s simple.” Five replies. “The Commission will answer to the two of you, but you, you’ll answer to me.”

~

The day the Handler dies is like every other day at the Temps Commission: warm and sunny with a slight breeze. When one exists outside of time, the weather never changes or goes bad, but it also means that one’s death is final, permanent. It’s what Five has always wanted for the Handler.

Killing her is quite simple. For all the power that she’s held over Five’s life, she’s not particularly skilled in combat. She’s always depended on charm and manipulation rather than force and physicality.

When they find her corpse at the bottom of the stairs, neck broken, they assume her heels finally got the best of her, that she fell.

Herb and Dot know better. They keep their silence and rise to power.

~

“I need a favor.”

“Of course,” Dot agrees, adjusting her collar. “What can Herb and I do for you?”

“I need access to the Infinite Switchboard.”

“The Switchboard?” Herb repeats, “Really? What for?”

At Five’s glare, he holds his hands up, “Of course you can use it, it’s just that you’ve never shown an interest before.”

“I need to see how Ben dies. I don’t have enough information to save him without watching it.”

“Are you sure?” Dot asks, her hesitation obvious. “I’ve seen it before. It can be quite gruesome, particularly given your emotional attachment.”

“I’m sure.”

He watches it. He watches it, and Dot is right. He’s never given much thought to the details of Ben’s death, why should he when his only source of information on his family, Vanya’s book, had not known them herself, now though, watching as the Horror turns on Ben, ripping him apart for daring to try and confine them, he regrets that.

~

“Where have you been?” Allison asks. They’re sitting in a circle on the floor of Klaus’s room, utilizing their thirty-minutes of free time in order to interrogate Five. “You have a bruise on your cheek.”

“Special training,” He tells her, taking a long swig from Klaus’s flask. He’s missed the burn of alcohol, the way it makes it easier to lie to his siblings.

He hadn’t noticed the bruise. Hadn’t even felt it. If he had, he'd have covered it up with some of Klaus’s make up. It’s too late now, though he does cast his mind back, trying to remember when he actually got it. Probably one of the board members. A few of them fought back.

“You were gone for two days, and you’ve never had facial bruising after training.” Vanya adds, raising her brow.

Ben nods, “Last time you were gone so long you had just got back from running away, and even then no visible bruises.”

“Did you p-piss off Dad again?” Diego wonders, a gleam in his eye.

“You could say that,” Five laughs. “I’m quite good at making people angry.”

“You shouldn’t do that,” Luther tells him. “He’s our father.”

“No,” Five disagrees, and he knows his eyes are steely. “He’s a man who bought us, who made it impossible for us to lead normal lives.”

“Maybe,” Klaus shrugs. “But he also brought us all together. That has to count for something, right?”

“Yeah,” Five breaths. “It does.”

~

“Five. Five”

He doesn’t react, just keeps working. The equations sprawl across his walls, covering them from ceiling to floor, but he has to keep going. Stopping means death, means his family’s death.

He calculates everything, from the probability the Handler survived, to the chances that Dot and Herb will betray him, to the likelihood that the apocalypse will return.

The percentages are all so low, and yet he feels so on edge. Like the world will collapse around him at any moment.

He starts the calculation to see if Ben will survive.

“Five.”

A hand touches his shoulder and he reacts without thinking, twisting the wrist out and back, off of his shoulder and into a lock.

“Ow!”

The voice is familiar. It knocks him out of his fugue like state and he blinks rapidly until he realizes he’s staring up at Klaus, twisting his wrist uncomfortably.

He drops his arm.

“Shit, sorry Klaus, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Klaus mutters, rubbing his arm. “Last time I check on you though.”

~

“What’s going on with you?” Ben hisses as they slip into their domino masks, mission alarm systems ringing all around them.

Five twitches. He’s uncomfortable in his own skin, desperate for his older, more conditioned body. He hates being a child everyday, but today of all days, knowing that he will be responsible for saving his brother, he yearns for a physical form he’s familiar with, confident in.

“Nothing,” he snaps. “Lets go.”

They do.

Five can admit to distraction during the fight. In his defense, he’s mostly watching Ben, seeing if things are playing out differently or the same. His presence alone changes some things, but not enough, not without direct action from him. Vanya isn’t here, it's too early in her training, so at least Five only has to focus on the ripple effects of one change.

A man grabs Five, fingers locking around his throat. Hissing, he jumps free of the man’s hold, landing behind him and snapping his neck. He doesn’t have time to engage with these men. They don’t matter, and if it weren’t for the presence of his siblings, he’d simply jump around rapidly and kill them off. Unfortunately, he’s still reluctant to reveal the extent of his secrets. In their minds he’s merely a fourteen year old like the rest of them, he can’t expose himself just to make one short moment easier. He wants to maintain their trust for a little while longer, as long as he can, in hopes of leading them farther and farther from the will of their father.

There, the beginning of it all. A woman screams and begins to run across the clearing, brandishing a knife at Klaus. Klaus, who was relegated to lookout after his siblings had realized that he was high.

Ben, Five knows, is aware of Klaus’s current situation, and he will choose to act when he sees the threat. This whole time, Ben has been serving as another lookout, on the opposite side of the clearing from Klaus. It had been a strategic decision on Luther’s part, as seemed likely at the time that their adversary would be hiding in the trees and the Horror would be rather ineffective.

The moment that Ben spots Klaus’s attacker, he releases the Horror.

The moment that Ben releases the Horror, Five jumps.

He lands behind his brother, body tense as he watches. One tentacle reaches out to grasp the woman with the knife, and another latches on, pulling her apart. Five forces himself to pull his eyes away from the gore, just in time to see yet another tentacle reach behind Ben, aiming for him.

Five jumps to safety, but it costs him. He lands on the other side of the clearing, next to Klaus, just in time to watch as the tentacle that had been reaching for him lashes out, striking Ben instead.

This is how it happened before, Five knows. He’s seen it before. If he doesn’t dive back into the fray, he’ll be forced to watch as Ben’s own powers turn against him, until all that’s left of him is a bloody pulp.

“Ben!” Diego yells, as they watch the blue shine of the portal within Ben’s abdomen grow wider, more tentacles emerging.

“Stop them!” Luther demands.

Five digs his hand into his pocket, reaching for the stun gun he’d liberated from Reginald a few days ago.

“Alright Ben, here we go.”

Five jumps, this time not directly behind Ben, but rather ten feet in front of him. He remains in place for a few seconds, just long enough to attract the Horror’s attention, before jumping again, this time even closer to Ben.

He engages the Horror in a game of cat and mouse, drawing it’s attention away from Ben and toward himself. The Horror manages to strike him a few times, Five can feel the blood dripping down his side and taste it on his teeth. None of that matters. He’s had worse.

A tentacle misses him by mere inches, and Five decides it’s time. The Horror is evidently focused on him now, though he can see that at least one tentacle is fighting Ben, ripping his abdomen even farther open.

Rapidly, Five jumps back, away from Ben. He waits until the Horror has almost reached him, tentacles whispering against his skin, before he jumps again. This time, directly onto Ben’s back.

He jams the stun gun into Ben’s neck, and watches as his brother, Horror and all, slumps to the ground.

The Horror retreats back inside of Ben, but the gaping wound they’ve created remains.

“Take care of these guys.” Five barks, waving to their opponents, now laying on the ground subdued. “Ben needs medical attention, and there’s no time to wait.”

He grabs his brother, and jumps, hoping that he’s actually made a difference.

~

He’s only just left Ben in the infirmary, blessedly alive, and started to clean his own wounds when his door swings open. He hisses between his teeth, shoving the needle and thread under his pillow and allowing his shirt to fall back down and cover his abdomen.

“What the hell Klaus, I’m busy,” Five snaps as his brother wanders farther into the room.

“Why would he do that,” Klaus asks, sitting down on the edge of his bed and ignoring Five’s words as he stares down at his own hands. “He hates the Horror, hates it. He told me once that it isn’t just upsetting, it hurts him. Why would he do that to himself?”

“He loves you, Klaus. He did it so you would be okay.”

“But you heard what Mom said, if the Horror had been out much longer it would have killed him. The only reason it didn’t is because you kept it distracted.”

“I know. And that’s how I know Ben loves you, because what I did, I did because I love him.”

Klaus reaches up to wipe at his eyes, and Five pretends not to see.

“I don’t want you guys to die,” Klaus admits. “I don’t want you to become one of the ghosts.”

“Then you need to get sober, Klaus. If you want to help keep us alive, we need you fully functional.”

“I won’t be, without the drugs there are too many ghosts.”

“I’ll help you,” Five promises placing a hand on his shoulder, “We’ll find a way to keep the ghosts away, without dads methods.”

“You don’t understand!” Klaus cries, turning to look at Five, “You’ve never had to see them- is that blood?”

Klaus cuts himself off, eyes focuses on Five’s abdomen, so Five allows himself to look down and see how the blood seeping out of his wound has soaked through his shirt. With a sigh, he pulls the shirt off and fishes around for his needle and thread.

He’s already plunging the needle into his flesh when Klaus speaks again.

“What are you doing? Go see Mom!”

“It’s fine, I’m excellent at caring for my own wounds.”

“Where’d you even get that anyway, I don’t remember you getting hurt?”

“The Horror got me,” Five admits, no use in lying, after all the others may recall the hit.

“Is that, is that my fault too?”

Five shrugs, “I don’t know Klaus; that seems like a conclusion you have to reach for yourself. But what I can tell you is that if you get sober it’s less likely we get as hurt.”

“Okay,” Klaus breathes out shakily. “Okay. I want to try, I do, but I’m not sure I know how anymore.”

“Klaus, if you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you’re dedicated to getting sober, I will make sure it happens.”

“I am, I am.”

“Then consider it done.”

Getting Klaus sober is a challenge he knew he would face, one he’s happy to face, particularly now, while he’s young and isn’t into the harder stuff the older version of him was. Still, he knows that he isn’t qualified to handle it himself, not given his own drinking habits.

He finishes the stitches in his side. “Be ready at 1730 tomorrow. In your room. I’ll come get you.”

“For what?”

“Rehab.”

~

The problem, as Five had long ago determined, is not just that Klaus is using. It’s also that he has no safe space in which he can detox, no space in which he can be ghost free when he comes down from his high. It’s a problem that Five has been working to fix, going so far as to research rehab facilities and their histories to ensure that no one had ever died on or near the premise and the employees. In the end, his options had been rather limited, but he had found a place he trusted to care for his brother. He hadn’t anticipated utilizing it quite so soon, but who knows when life would offer him an opportunity like this again.

When Klaus says he’ll get sober, Five makes sure they know he’s coming.

Then he takes his brother by the hand, and he jumps, jumps them both to a facility where he can check Klaus in under a false name (so Reginald can’t find him) and ensure they know the details of his struggles

He leaves Klaus with a promise that he’ll be there to come pick him up.

~

It isn’t until they file into dinner the next day that anyone realizes what is wrong. They take their seats, waiting for Reginald’s arrival, and Five watches as his siblings eyes dart continually to the empty chair. He says nothing.

Reginald enters the room with his usual aplomb, stopping only when he reaches the head of the table. His voice rings out among them, cold and heavy with expectation.

“Where is Number Four?”

Silence rings out.

“Children,” Reginald barks. “I asked a question!”

“We, we don’t know,” Luther admits, looking down at his food, face colored by shame.

“Hmm. Every good leader is accountable for the pretense and wellbeing of their men, Number One. This is unacceptable.”

Five’s eye twitches as he stares at their father. He can stand by during most things, but not to watch Reginald berate his siblings for something they have no part in.

“Klaus won’t be back for a while.” Five informs him. He keeps his voice calm and steady, hiding the rage that lurks beneath his skin.

“And why is that, Number Five?”

“He sought help and I offered it to him. “

“So, you kidnapped your brother?”

“No,” Five objects. “He’ll be back, just not until he’s doing better.”

Reginald huffs quietly, “Number Five, with me!”

He turns in his heel and storms out the door, Five following him reluctantly.

As they enter his office, Reginald allows the door to slam shut.

“Enough of this! What is going on?”

“Klaus is temporarily disposed of, getting sober. You should be happy you know, without the drugs he can see the ghosts fine.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t appreciate you going behind my back. Despite your apocalyptic experience, you are still a child, my child, and bound to my word. You should do nothing without my approval.”

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t particularly care for your approval.There’s nothing you can do to me that I haven’t already experienced worse than.

“That may be true,” Reginald allows. “I’ll never know exactly what you endured in your time aware from home, however I must ask you this, does the same hold true for your siblings?”

Briefly, the image of decaying corpses, the memory of burying his siblings returns to him. But these are different siblings, they’re young, innocent, and Reginald has been the worst pain imaginable for years now.

“No?” Reginald hums. “Then listen closely, you’ll do well to recognize who is in charge from here on out. I will allow Number Four to continue his treatment, if only so that I don’t have to deal with a useless, high child, but if I hear of anything like this again I will be forced to show my displeasure by punishing your siblings. Do not test me, Number Five. You’ve yet to see how far I am willing to go.”

~

Ninety days later, Five stands at the gates to pick Klaus up from rehab.

Reginald never knows.


End file.
